Cultural Competency

New Jersey is a very racially and ethnically diverse state. We are one of the top 3 most diverse states in the US with respect to racial/ethnic and foreign born populations. In 2011, racial/ethnic minorities made up over one-third (44 percent) of the total estimated population of New Jersey. Fifty nine percent of the population is White (non-Hispanic), 15 percent is Black, 9 percent is Asian, 18 percent is of Hispanic origin, 21 percent foreign born, 29 percent speak a language other than English at home, and 10 percent live below the poverty level.

This rich diversity presents a challenge to health professionals. Diverse populations bring different attitudes, expectations, beliefs and communication styles to each health encounter. Health professionals must be sensitive to these complex issues if they are to be successful.

Culturally competent health workers not only respect cultural differences, they incorporate them into the entire patient care or program planning process. In the health care setting, this can require organizational change as well as more skilled one-on-one patient interactions.

The public health community is also working to better understand the social and cultural gap between practitioners and the communities they seek to serve, and to find effective ways to bridge that gap.

The result in both cases can be better patient care, more effective public health interventions and, ultimately, better health in our communities.

Resources/Links

Below are links to cultural competency and language resources on the web:

Health and Human ServicesNational CLAS Standards/Blueprint [pdf 448k]The National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health and Health Care (the National CLAS Standards) are intended to advance health equity, improve quality, and help eliminate health care disparities by providing a blueprint for individuals and health and health care organizations to implement culturally and linguistically appropriate services. Adoption of these Standards will help advance better health and health care in the United States.

Hep B United
A national campaign to eliminate hepatitis B and liver cancer

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, FEMA is working hard to ensure that disaster recovery information is available to all who need it, regardless of their language proficiency. A FEMA public service announcement, available in ten languages, can be accessed at the following links:FEMA’s "Help After Disaster Guide" is also available in 19 languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Italian, Korean, Russian and Spanish. See http://www.fema.gov/help-after-disaster.

Racial Equity Tools
Racial Equity Tools is a web site designed to support people and groups who are working for inclusion, racial equity and social justice. The site includes ideas, strategies and tips, as well as a clearinghouse of resources and links from many sources. Racial Equity Tools is a companion site to Evaluation Tools for Racial Equity - which helps people track progress and document results of similar work, in racially explicit and competent ways.